i have been planning to write something today since i woke up this morning. i woke up with a steady stream of things to rant about running through my brain. up until about 5 minutes ago, i still hadn't settled on a topic, but then i got online and finished reading a string of articles, op-eds and responses that got me a little annoyed so i settled on a topic i hadn't even considered writing about.
i love buying things online. the internet really has helped when it comes to my not having to deal with the stupid people who seem to clog up the stores. however, even my online purchases occur at local establishments. that's right. i shop local. not 100% of the time, but probably at least 75% of the time. easy to do when about the only thing you spend your money on is books and food.
which leads me to my rant...
amazon.com is killing the locally owned bookstore. (yes, i'm going to be spewing forth about my favorite topic....books and the places in which you can get them.) let me say that again....amazon.com is KILLING the locally owned bookstore. for that matter, they're killing the big chain box bookstores. borders has already closed its doors and barnes & noble is struggling with sales of books though their NOOK is doing well.
let me give you a little back ground. publishers set the prices for books. not the bookstore. not amazon. not even the author (well, not most of the time.). bookstores sell the books for the publishers list price unless the store chooses to take a smaller profit from the sale of the book and puts it on sale. so if the publisher says the book is $24.95, typically more than half of that amount goes back to the publisher who then pays the author their share of that sale. the rest of the money goes to the bookstore. the bookstore then uses that money to pay staff and all the other bills necessary to keep the doors open. if the bookstore decides they are going to sell the book at a cheaper price, the bookstore makes less money, not the publisher...the publisher gets the same amount of money no matter what the store sells the book for.
now publishers do offer discounts themselves....basically, the more books a bookstore buys from they, the better the discount. but your locally owned bookstore isn't going to want hundreds of copies of a single book sitting around taking up space that other titles could be taking so the number of books they get at any one time is small.
hopefully, my smart reader, you've figured out that the reason you find very few books on sale in your locally owned bookstore is that they have bills to pay so they can't afford to discount every book on the shelf.
that brings us to amazon.com. they offer amazing discounts. often more than 50% publisher list price. one of the reasons amazon.com can do that is because they can order books from publishers in such a vast quantity that the publishers discount to them is huge. another reason they can do that is because they sell so much more than books. they can offer you the newest bestseller at 75% off list price because they might just sell you a pair of shoes or a microwave at no discount at all as well. amazon.com is kind of like sam's club. they sell everything you might need so they can discount knowing that people aren't just going to buy the one book, but a lot of other things as well. especially since you have to spend $25 to get free shipping. at their discount, that's at least 2 books you'd have to buy to get free shipping.
side note: i started this blog 4 hours ago and was unable to finish it due to a power outage at work. my train of thought has since been derailed and i no longer remember where i was going to take this post.
while i don't personally use amazon.com to purchase things unless i absolutely can not find them anywhere else (i can count on one hand the number of times i've bought things from amazon.com), i can understand their place in this world. i agree with some of the articles i've read that have named the website as one of the instrumental things that got the world reading again. they have definitely played a big part in changing the landscape of publishing and bookselling. i don't think they need to disappear, but they need to give the brick-and-mortar stores a break. amazon.com sterilizes book buying. they make it easy to get what you want without the hassle of other shoppers or employees asking if they can help you. you can sit on your couch at home and browse all day long without anyone bothering you. but you miss out on the sensory pleasures that come with shopping in an actual bookstore. part of the fun is being able to touch what you might want to buy or smell a store full of books. sure amazon.com shows you the cover of the book and even lets you read small sections of a lot of books, but it doesn't even come close to the experience of actually seeing the book. for a reader, nothing is more fun than getting into a lively spur of the moment conversation with someone at a bookstore over what they're reading, thinking of buying or comparing recommendations, whether they are a shopper or member of the staff. you can't do that on amazon.com. sure there are discussion boards on every topic under the sun, but nothing is spur of the moment. rarely do discussions get truly heated. for me, a trip to the bookstore can easily turn into an impromptu book club while browse the fiction section with other fellow readers or while we stand in line to pay for our new found treasures. i have shelves full of books i bought because the person next to me while browsing recommended something.
whether you like it or not, shopping in a brick-and-mortar bookstore is personal. staff members are going to ask to help you. other customers might try to chat with you. music will be playing. it isn't likely you're going to get in and out without having a conversation with someone other than 'that'll be $31.46, please.' someone will ask how you are. someone will ask if they can help you find something. someone will ask if you've read the book they're holding. someone will ask if the author you're about to buy is any good. bookstores are friendly. why? because everyone in the place has at least one thing in common....a love of the written word. what does everyone shopping at amazon.com have in common? they're all too lazy to drive to a real store.
i said earlier i shop online. and i do. i order my pizza online (which either comes from a local pizza place or is paid for by cash on delivery from a chain). i buy things i find on craigslist.org. i order things that can be shipped to and paid for at a brick-and-mortar store in the area. but if i can't keep part of the money i'm spending on the items i'm ordering online in my own community, i try not to buy online unless it is the only option.
yeah, so i'm sure this entry is all over the place, but there you have it.
